


Persona 5: Rising Star and Shining Knight

by RossieSvendo



Category: Persona 5, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25007404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RossieSvendo/pseuds/RossieSvendo
Summary: The heist to steal the treasure of Junya Kaneshiro has been pulled off without a hitch, all that's left for the Phantom Thieves to do is wait.Fortunately the Phantom Thieves won't have to be idle for long as Yuuki Mishima has once again stumbled upon a discovery of his own. An odd request on the Phansite message boards. The worries of a father unable to reach his despondent child. Intrigued by the nature of the request Ren decides to investigate further, leading to a series of events that could have lasting consequences on the group as a whole.(In other words among other things I give love to two characters I personally haven't seen a lot of)
Kudos: 15





	1. Interlude

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer  
> I feel the need to write this little bit before we get started as I feel without it a major aspect of the writing will be very obvious and possibly obnoxious.  
> Persona 5 was the first game I played to my memory that actually acted like it was set in Japan rather than just mixing together Japanese looking things or terms with American ones… so it was quite the culture shock to me in multiple ways... not in a bad way mind you an interesting one. There were quite a few things about the cast, their location and the themes in general that frankly I didn’t understand or emphasize with. They were odd shoes to step into. This was hardly a bad thing to me… because I had to work to understand the cultural differences. I was more invested in their world at the end of the day!  
> Long story short and sparing you the details about it you probably don’t care about. I don’t know the proper usage and applications of Japanese Honorifics. As a kid they kinda fascinated me but my understanding has never been really clear cut or concise. I lack the confidence in my ability to find a place of reference that I could use to make absolutely certain I don’t make any mistakes in that regard as I weighed the options in my head and I figured it would be less damning for me to not bother with them then to use them and use them wrong.  
> With that however I AM aware how Japan views the use of last names as opposed to first names… I don’t know the complete details, but I do know it has to do with formality and casualness? With that in mind I will keep that aspect of the dialogue in place.  
> I am not unwilling to learn… I just lack the resources to be certain in myself…  
> Note: Any name that isn't given from the source materiel (That I don't own in any capacity.) I simply made up on a whim to fill the void that needed filling.  
> Thank you for your patience and I really do hope you enjoy!

_Chapter One:Interlude_

_June 27th. Cafe LaBlanc Attic._

All that was left to do was wait. 

The infiltration had been a success. The treasure of one Junya Kaneshiro had been successfully stolen. All should proceed according to plan without any complication. There was nothing more for the Phantom Thieves to do but wait as they had time and time before for the change of heart to occur. 

That of course didn’t make the wait any less agonizing, especially when so much was on the line. Which in hindsight was probably the reason Ren Amamiya’s dwelling was currently being stretched to capacity by every member of the Phantom Thieves. 

As Ren gazed across the room from where he sat in the chair he used to access the ceiling beams he could see Ryuji and Morgana once more engaging in boisterous arguments. Ann watched from the couch with mild bemusement while Makoto simply pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, trying to avoid eye contact that could drag her into the argument. 

“I’m _just saying!_ That makes no sense!” Ryuji practically shouted at the snarky feline who snarled and rolled his eyes in response.

“It doesn’t _have_ to make sense to you bonehead! That’s just how it is!” Morgana replied, standing tall like a stray about to pounce. “Guns don’t have infinite ammo! That’s how they _function_ ! You know this, it’s ingrained into your consciousness just like everyone else _who’s ever seen one_! Therefore in the Metaverse you can’t fire your gun forever and ever like a madman. Even if you somehow managed to convince yourself your shotgun could fire like a chaingun it would break the cycle of cognition that lets those damn toys work in the first place! It’s a two way street!”

Ryuji scratched his head at the cat’s tirade, finding himself unable to come up with a suitable rebuttal. Causing him to huff in defeat and annoyance and turn around harshly. 

Yusuke seemed mildly disappointed that the argument seemed resolved for the moment, as he’d been quite content to watch the two posture through framed fingers. He quickly moved to capture Ryuji’s expression, his mouth moving a thousand words a minute. 

Morgana for his part strutted over to where Ann and Makoto sat with a smug grin on his face looking for praise. 

Ren let out a sigh and turned his head towards the window and the drizzling rain clattering on it.. It wasn’t that he was particularly annoyed by the duos’ arguments as he had long since gotten used to them. With the big crisis with Kaneshiro having been dealt with, Ren's mind was now free to wander to the various small responsibilities he had around Tokyo from places such as his work with Yoshida to his commitments to the likes of Takemi and Iwai. 

Of course then there was Yuuki Mishima of whom Ren was currently on dubious terms with if he was honest. He wanted to like the guy and all, but he had a bad habit of being a strange contradictory combination of clingy and brash at the same time. While he was impressed with Mishima’s ability to change his own heart without the need for it to be taken, Ren had to admit that it was a bit difficult to _un_ see Shadow Mishima’s sneering visage. Not to mention while Ren did understand that the leak of his records, which caused him no shortage of troubles at Shujin was not Mishima’s direct fault. It was still difficult to just turn around and forgive him unabashedly for what he’d done, willingly or not.

So when he gazed at his phone to notice he had six unread messages from the resident Phanboy he had a minor dilemma. After changing his heart Mishima had profusely apologized for his behavior, including some things Ren didn’t even think Mishima really had much to do with. He even imposed a rule on himself that if Ren didn’t answer his texts after three in a row he was to cease messaging about the Phansite unless it was of the utmost importance, as in people’s safety would be in danger if the request was not acted upon. The swarm of texts he currently was looking at meant one of three things, Mishima had found a request that fulfilled that criteria or at least thought he did, Mishima was breaking his own rule in excitement or relapsing arrogance, or Mishima was lonely. 

None of these possibilities were particularly appealing options but he figured he at least owed Mishima the benefit of the doubt and sighed, deciding to bite the bullet he opened the messenger app and took a look at what Mishima was offering 

**Mishima** : _I found something… a bit off on the forums today…_

**Mishima** : _You might want to take a look at this is what I mean…_

The following images were clearly screencaps from Mishima’s phone of the Phansite. A user who only identified himself as ‘The Director’ was not so much calling out a request so much as making inquires on the forums themselves. 

The Director proceeded to query pretty much anyone who would listen to him, questioning the technical mechanics of how the Change of Hearts worked. He acted incredibly stiff and formal compared to the usual “clientele” that the Phansite usually had which led Ren to figure the man was an adult.

**Ren** : _This is it? Some guy asking about us? That’s not exactly out of the ordinary…_

**Mishima** : _That’s not quite the end of it. I just wanted to make sure I had your attention before I sent potentially… dangerous… posts in the form of images… who knows who could be watching._

While mildly annoyed Mishima wouldn’t get to the point Ren had to admit he had a slight point.

**Ren** : _Fair enough I guess. Where’s this get interesting?_

**Mishima** : _Right around here. I honestly don’t know what to make of this… and honestly I don’t know how to ANSWER the guy even if I did._

Ren raised an eyebrow as more images flooded his inbox of various posts of The Director asking around more intimately and beginning to sound desperate before finally unveiling the purpose behind his inquires

_“I have been spending my free time here on this website. Because I hope beyond hope not that the Phantom Thieves are out there but that they’re not just vigilantes carrying out their own brand of justice, but that the clearly supernatural means of which they change the hearts of this nation's most wicked… can be used to understand the most vulnerable.”_

Ren’s frown returned with a vengeance. _“Most vulnerable? What does he mean by that?”_

When he probed Mishima for more information it took Mishima a little bit of time for the boy to respond, but when he did the results led to even more questions then he had to begin with.

**Ren** : _He wants to know what?_

**Mishima** : _He seems to want to know if whatever in people’s minds you abuse to cause the changes of heart, if it only applies to those who are evil and have “Committed great sins upon humanity”_

 **Ren** : _I… never really considered it… In the meantime can you try and see if you can get him to disclose a target?_

**Mishima** : _Can do! I’ll see what I can find! :D_

Ren sighed and tucked his phone away in his pocket and before he could go to consult Morgana about what he just read, his train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of hissing.

“Get that abomination away from me!”

“Oh don’t be such a baby! It’s just a vegetable!”

“It is an _abomination of nature!”_

Ren looked up from his seat to see Morgana perched atop the rafters of the attic, his hairs on end and his tail straight as an arrow. The source of the disturbance was a vegetable clutched in Ryuji’s hand. It took a little bit of time for Ren to make the connection to why it was causing Morgana such distress, once it did he couldn’t help but smile slightly in spite of himself. For all of Morgana’s protests he certainly seemed to like engaging in cat type escapades. 

Ren stepped forward and cleared his throat, causing the entire room’s attention to turn to him.

Morgana took this opportunity to leap from the rafters towards Ann. “Quick! Save me Lady Ann!” 

The girl barely had enough time to fumble and catch the feline before he crashed into her arms. He quickly burrowed his face in her shoulder as if utterly devastated. All Ann could do is shoot those in the room a perplexed expression before confusedly cradling the feline thief in her arms. “U-Uh… There there? The mean vegetable can’t hurt you anymore?” She once again looked up at her friends and mouthed _“What the hell?”_

Ren shook his head as Ryuji howled with laughter. “Really Ryuji?”

Ryuji looked his friend directly in the eyes and said with utter certainty. “Yes.” 

As if that was the end of that he went downstairs to the cafe presumably to return the produce before Sojiro caught wind it was missing. 

Ren sighed and turned to Ann and Morgana. “Morgana I think you’ll want to take a look at this…” 

Morgana poked his head out for where he was hiding and tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Huh? What is it?” a small amount of squirming had Ann decide enough was enough and place him on the ground. 

Ren nodded and knelt down to show the cat the images Mishima had sent him about “The Director”

The cat frowned and if cats could purse their lips Ren imagined that's the expression Morgana would have at the moment.

“Like I’ve said before, any sort of distortion in the heart can cause the emergence of a Shadow, and eventually the birth of a treasure that grows into a palace. What that desire is can frankly be anything… the key thing to remember here is that a distortion means-”

He was interrupted by Ren’s phone once more vibrating and letting out a small trill.

  
  


**Mishima** : _I got something for you. Guy’s asking if these changes of heart lead to any sort of personality change in their victims. Guy’s a real theatrical. Tossing around tons a torperific language and stuff…._

**Ren** : _Troperific?_

**Mishima** : _Yeah? Like… laden with narrative… remind me to show you this one website sometime… It may actually be of some use to you. Anyway he’s just worried that the person he wants you to target will end up… changed… Not the person she once was…_

**Ren** : _I mean changing people is sort of what we do you know…_

**Mishima** : _I know I know… That’s not what he means I think…. Hold up… he just made a clarification… He’s saying the person he wants you to target used to be colorful, vibrant and creative. All that jazz… He’s at a loss for what to do and is utterly terrified about what will happen if he doesn’t do something drastic… he just doesn’t want to lose the wonderful person she once was…_

**Ren** : _I don’t exactly think we could call ourselves just if we went around rewriting people into mindless drones… The method we use to change hearts can only remove distortion and corruption from someone's heart. That distortion can really be any distorted desire. Even a good one warped beyond recognition._

There was enough of a pause in Mishima’s information for Ryuji to come thundering up the stairs rubbing his forehead. “Geez! Boss really hits like a truck when he wants to! Man my head…”

Morgana looked up from his new perch on the workbench. “That’s what you get for being such a bonehead Skull! Seriously wasting good produce!”

Ryuji frowned. “Weren’t you calling it an abomination just a few minutes ago?”

“Beauty and lack thereof is in the eye of the beholder! I wouldn’t expect a monkey like you to understand. Right Yusuke?” The cat tilted his head over to the Phantom Thieves resident starving artist only to find he hadn’t moved a muscle in several minutes. Nobody could even remember if they’d seen him _blink_.

Makoto frowned and waved her hand in front of his face with mild concern. “I-Is he asleep? With his _eyes_ open?”

Ryuji made a big show about examining Yusuke from a few angles before shrugging and in one of the most casual ways Ren had heard him speak in a while. “Nah… I think he’s dead…”

Ann rolled her eyes and let out a taxicab whistle that Ren was sure could be heard all the way up in _Shibuya._ Morgana even flattened his ears against his skull in pain.

  
  


Yusuke jumped up from his seat as if the chair suddenly had a deadly current passing through it. “W-Wha? S-Sensei! I’m up I’m up!” looking around frantically, rubbing his eyes as his brain processed the information of what just happened.

A small pang of guilt ran through the entire group as they remembered the awful circumstances in which Yusuke had been forced to live in. 

Ann’s shoulders practically drooped. “S-Sorry Yusuke… You weren’t waking up…”

Yusuke simply shook his head, pleased the nightmare had ended before it had a chance to begin.

“Think nothing of it. Your timing was actually superb, I have been idle for far too long.” He cast a glance over to Ren. “Thank you for your hospitality, but if there’s nothing major going to occur today I think I’ll take my leave for the evening.” 

Ren paused for a moment before glancing at his phone and nodding towards Yusuke. “Yeah I think there’s nothing to be done today.” He paused before standing up. “I’ll walk you to the station… Something I need to take care of in Shibuya anyway.” 

Yusuke raised an eyebrow at that comment but decided that if he needed to know then he would be told. “What happenstance! The rain appears to have started up once again, and I do lack an umbrella… If you would be so kind?”

Ren shook his head in bemusement. “Yeah, I’ll be right with you.” 

Makoto frowned slightly. “Where are you going?”

Ren smirked slightly. “To go meet our informant…” Without further word he moved to collect his bag as he knew Morgana was likely to want to come along.

Ryui let out a derisive snort. “You’re seriously ditching us to go hang out with _Mishima_?”

Ann frowned slightly. “You act like you’re not friends with him either…”

Ryuji frowned and leaned back in his seat. “I dunno Ann, ever since our little run in the little weasel has rubbed me the wrong way…” He paused and looked around the room, confused to not find everyone nodding or similar gestures of agreement. “F-For real? I’m the ONLY one who just kinnnnnnda wants to punt him like a football?”

Ann nervously twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. “I mean… He’s a victim too you know…”

Ryuji groaned. “Yeah I know, but seriously every time I see him all I see is that smug little grin!”

Makoto nodded in agreement. “It is a little hard to get out of my head… but what a Shadow does…Mishima changed on his own didn’t he? I’ve never seen a Shadow do that before…”

Morgana poked his head out of the bag and nodded. “I can’t tell you with absolute certainty that Mishima’s shadow no longer exists. But as a fledgeling shadow, and one that almost didn’t want to exist… I can say that at the very least it likely has no corporeal form in Mementos any longer. Worst case scenario Mishima acts up again and we give him strike two. I for one think having his personal hero basically not consider him worth the time of day probably struck a nerve…”

“I’ll be back within the hour guys… Just don’t make any problems up here okay? Almost quitting time…”

As Ren and Yusuke left the room they could hear on the edge of their hearing range Ryuji mumble “Why’d everyone look at me when he said that?”

After apologizing to Sojiro about Ryuji’s raid of his pantry the trio made their way to the Yogen-Jiya station Yusuke broke the comfortable silence. “If I may ask. Who is it you’re going to see Mishima about?” As if on cue Ren’s eyes widened ever so slightly. Yusuke’s words shaking him out of a reverie Yusuke didn’t even realize he was in. 

“Why I’m glad you asked. You may actually have some insight on this one.”

“Oh? Whose heart are we after now?”

“A student of Kosei High. Hikari Kudo…”


	2. Chapter 2: Hikari Kudo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well for those of you who are still here… It seems that I didn’t drive you away  
> . Which is hell of a confidence booster let me tell you. If it wasn’t obvious from the tags in this story and my poor attempt at a wham line.  
> Yes this is going to be an adaptation of the events of Persona Q2 Cinema Labyrinth. This time the narrative will take place within the confines of Persona 5’s storyline and won’t involve the other groups.  
> Anyone who’s played the game in question will know that the Cinema and its titular Labyrinths function quite differently from the Palaces of the norm, and how the Labyrinths themselves are tangentially based on one of the three teams. Labyrinths 2 and 3 for example make no sense without The Investigation Team and S.E.E.S respectively.  
> Fear not dear reader! (Jk be VERY afraid…) for I have a plan to tie this all together (And by that I mean take a hacksaw to it so that the square block fits in the round hole.)  
> In the meantime any constructive criticism is welcome.  
> Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Hikari Kudo

June 27th. Outside Untouchable.  
Mishima was surprised to find Ren immediately responding to a request like this in person, much less on the very same day that he presented it to him. However he was willing to admit the circumstances behind this request were far from normal, as was the presence of another person accompanying Amaiya to the meeting point.  
Even though Mishima knew he wasn’t an imposing or violent person the sheer height difference between him and Kitagawa was still a mite imposing. Not to mention the utter lankiness of his limbs just reminded Mishima of a horror game he used to play as a child.  
“O-Oh! Hey! K-Kitagawa right?”  
The boy nodded and replied with a much deeper voice then Mishima frankly thought his slim frame could produce. “Yuuki Mishima correct?” Yusuke already knew who he was but figured pleasantries would calm him down a bit and speed things along. There was art to be done after all.  
“Y-Yeah…” He looked back and forth in a way only a child would think is subtle. “Uh… Kitagawa is uh… He’s on the up and up right Amaiya?”  
Ren sighed. “Yes Yuuki he is. Tell him what you told me would you? I have some… purchases to make…” With that the beleaguered leader of the Phantom Thieves walked inside of Untouchable.  
“R-Right… Kitagawa you attend Kosei Academy right?”  
“That is correct. I hear the proposed target also attends Kosei?”  
Mishima nodded and using the number Ren had provided him with Yusuke’s permission he sent him what appeared to be a school photo of the girl in question.  
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. “Now I am not what most would call an observant person Mishima.”  
Mishima’s slowly growing smile as he got used to Yusuke’s presence slowly faded. “A-And?”  
“I believe it is considered rather strange and… frankly rather disturbing to have a stranger’s image on your phone. Especially since they don’t know it’s public…”  
Mishima’s face reddened like a tomato. “I-It’s not like that! This image is from her social media! Besides! I got it from- N-Never mind just look here.”  
His fingers practically moving in a blur Yusuke quickly received a handful of images that created a conversation.

_“I cannot thank you enough for your time. I’m certain as the administrator of such a tireless effort your time must be a precious commodity”_

_“I wouldn’t go that far Mr. Director. But I appreciate the thought.”_

_“If you say so, good sir. But on to business. You can assure me that if I tell you who I wish to see change… She will not be harmed… she will not be destroyed or robbed of her individuality. She will simply be free of the prison she has locked herself into?”_

_“I have it on good authority that provided the operation is able to be carried out that would be the case…”_

_“I see… I’ve tried everything. I don’t know what else to do… My precious Hikari… life has not been kind to her… there used to be such life and vigor behind her eyes. The desire to create and to show her creations to the world… But that light has slowly faded over the years. Her mother died when she was very little and I’ve done all I can to support her… but I don’t get as much time with my baby girl as I’d like… I can’t help but feel I’m to blame for this… My sister and my brother in law are supposed to care for her when I cannot… but.... They are very harsh on her, I am told by the teachers at Kosei that she seemingly has no friends and only ever speaks when spoken to. She refuses to speak to any counselors and she doesn’t tell me anything. I tried to respect her privacy and not pry. ‘She’s a strong girl’ I told myself. But I failed to realize that even the strong need help… so here we are now...”_

_“Y-You want us to change your daughters heart?”_

_“I cannot see any other way! No way that doesn’t end in tragedy. She never leaves her room, she barely eats. Any time she isn’t doing her schoolwork she spends sleeping… sometimes I hear her at night. Shuffling around in the dark… sobbing.”_

_“I-I see….”_

_“I beg you… Phantom Thieves of Hearts… please… steal my daughter’s despair. Please. Find a way to bring that light back to the world once again…”_  
_“Please…. Help my darling Hikari smile again…”_  
_*USER: “Mr. Director” has changed their name to “Kiyoshi Kudo”*_  
_END OF CONVERSATION_

“Hikari Kudo… Hikari Kudo… Yes I do believe I’ve heard that name around the halls of Kosei… She’s a member of the cinematography program I believe…”  
“Huh?”  
“Yes It’s the art of-”  
“I-I know what that is! I just… I dunno… Didn’t think Kosei did that. Will you even be able to get close to her?”  
Yusuke frowned at Mishima. “What manner of obscenities has Ryuji told you about me?”  
Mishima practically jumped out of his skin. “S-Sorry sorry! You have to understand… I don’t actually… know how this whole thing works. I don’t know if you need to be near her for your whole thing to work…”  
“I see… No matter, all classes in Kosei have lunch at the same time. Should we have no mutual classes I shall simply seek her company there.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Positive. If her father is as desperate as he seems to be perhaps he may be of assistance?”  
“Y-You can’t mean…”  
“Perish the thought! Despite what many believe there are people who care about the well being of others out of empathy. I… was not in the best of sorts when Ren and the others found me…”  
“The others? You mean Sakamotto and Takamaki?”  
Yusuke nodded. “They sought only to save me, and in return… I said things I now regret, but do not know how to address… Have you ever encountered this problem Mishima?”  
Mishima was about to answer when Ren walked out of Untouchable with a brown paper bag in his hands.  
“You got the info we need Yusuke?”  
“Yes I do believe so… Mishima? We shall be in touch…”  
Mishima nodded excitedly. “This is some real heroes work right guys?”  
Ren cast a glance over a Yusuke who simply nodded in response. “Alright Yuuki. Thanks for the info.” He paused as Yusuke whispered something in his ear that seemed to surprise him.  
“Good work.” He added and as the two walked away and the sound of their footsteps faded away. Nothing was left but the sound of the rain splattering against Yuuki’s umbrella.

“And off they go… off to go save the girl from danger! Off… away from me...I may have overstepped a bit before but… I just wish-” Mishima was yanked harshly out of his thoughts by a grouchy Munehisa Iwai.  
“Hey! Nerd boy! Either get in and buy something or keep moving!”  
Indeed Mishima did, and he decided that the best course of action was to run as fast as he could from the tattooed gun shop owner. The guns he sold may have been fake but Mishima didn’t want to take the risk that the man wasn’t packing actual heat under that jacket.

*********

June 28th Kosei High School.

Today was a day like any other for Hikari Kudo. She woke up, she got dressed. She pretended to eat breakfast for her father’s sake if he was even there. Still unable to meet his eyes after the horrible incident. If he wasn’t there she didn’t even bother… more time to sleep in... She shambled through her classes in a dazed state, the teacher’s words sounding like they were underwater. She knew her grades were suffering, her homework may get nearly perfect scores but her classwork and projects were abysmal. She never worked with any classmates in class in group tasks… No… It was more like whenever time came for everyone to group up there was a silent message passed along to the entire class that Hikari was to be left alone.  
The teachers would occasionally ask what was wrong and would try to force students who attempted to force their way into to large a group the students protested and whined and glared daggers at Hikari to the point where Hikari would just mumble to the teachers to not bother with her anymore. Everybody else seemed to get the lesson… Hikari sure had.

Today was a day like any other day after all. Why should it be any different? All she had to do was ghost through the rest of the school day, try to minimize any and all contact with anyone.  
Read her textbooks once she was home until she got to what was covered in class that day and complete her homework seeing as if she didn’t her aunt would be… angry with her and wouldn’t let her just get the sleep she craved. Her, if she was lucky her day would end submerged in her pillows and blankets into the warm cocoon of darkness. The comforting void.

Today should have been like any other day… if it weren't for one specific wrench in the gears. A student from Kosei’s Fine Art program, one Yusuke Kitagawa. It was lunch period and like any other day and Hikari was sitting alone in the back corner of the room trying to avoid any stares or ire when a tall shadow loomed over her like the grim reaper himself. Hikari could only flinch away from what she could only assume was another demon in human skin about to dump their lunch on her clothes or worse.  
She was taken aback when absolutely nothing happened. She slowly opened her eyes and turned to see the rather confused face looming above her. “Kudo? Are you alright?”

Yusuke cursed mentally almost immediately after the words left his mouth. Even he could tell with a single glance that this girl was not okay. From what little of her snow white hair he could see under her baseball cap was frayed and twisted. Much like Yusuke’s was when he ended up agonizing over a piece. Her clothes were wrinkled and unkempt, her socks did not match and Yusuke was fairly certain her black blazer was inside out and her shirt either likewise or on backwards. He tried to not let his displeasure with himself show, fearing she may take it as directed towards her. Honestly he had little idea what he hoped to accomplish here but he knew he had to try, as the only one with carte blanche access to Kosei it was up to him to try and understand how Hikari viewed the world. If her palace were to be anywhere it would be either Kosei or her home. It was his job to figure out what her keyword was at least.

“U-Uh… Y-Yeah I’m… fine…” Hikari replied so quietly it was almost drowned out by the ambiance of the cafeteria.  
“I see… do you mind if I sit here?”  
Hikari’s perpetual frown deepened. “Why?”  
“I find that inspiration in observing people as they go about their daily lives, you seem to have found yourself quite the ideal little hideaway that’s perfect for such a task. I promise I shall not disturb you if you wish to eat your meal in silence.”  
Hikari honestly couldn't think of a reason to refuse him that wouldn’t cause him to become angry with her so she simply nodded to the only other chair that hadn’t been stolen from the lunch table she sat at.

Yusuke thanked Hikari and sat down to begin his observation and his meal. The former of which was simply a front to observe Hikari without her noticing him. The area of which he placed his phone on the table was at such an angle that, provided he looked at it from the corner of his eye would allow him to see her face with decent clarity. For a while the two simply sat in silence. It wasn’t till Yusuke was halfway through his own meal that he realized Hikari didn’t even have a tray, nor did she have a container of any kind that would indicate a home brought meal.  
“Kudo?”  
Silence was his only reply.  
“Kudo!”  
She jumped up like he had jabbed her in the ribs.  
“Y-Yes?”  
“Have you had anything to eat?”  
“H-Huh?”  
“Have you had any food?”  
“T-Today?”  
“... I was going to say ‘At Lunch’ but now I think that’s a redundant question isn’t it?”  
Hikari simply looked down at her shoes and shook her head.  
Yusuke let out a sigh and stood up. “Then it cannot be helped I suppose”

Hikari watched him in confusion as he walked back into the slow lunch line and slowly made progress up it. Ignoring the stares he got all the while.  
The stares slowly traced back to his point of origin, Hikari. Then the whispers started. The horrible horrible whispers. When Yusuke finally got to the front of the line the lunch lady attempted to turn him away, having already served him today already, he however was quick to point out that he wasn’t asking for himself but for Hikari. Once that was pointed out and established they were happy to give him large helpings of food free of charge. It wasn’t until Yusuke attempted to make his way back to her that things went wrong.

As he weaved his way through the various tables on his path back to Hikari two students stuck their legs out in unison, causing Yusuke to let out an undignified yelp and plummet face first onto the ground. The food and tray sprawling across the floor in a complete mess.  
Hikari watched the action unfold through the veil of her fingers as Yusuke stood up, his face transformed into a mask of cold rage.

“That was not an accident... “ Yusuke intoned to the two bullies who had caused him to trip.  
One of the boys snorted in contempt. “Picked up on that didn’t you toothpick?”  
“Then may I ask what the meaning of this assault was?”  
“Do you really need to ask that paintsnorter?”  
“I beg your pardon?” Yusuke replied. The cold fury in his voice slowly escalated as the conversation drew on, there were even a few from nearby tables that slowly began to scoot away from the boys.  
“You heard me didn’t you? Or are you deaf as well as stupid?”

Yusuke rolled his eyes at their stereotypical schoolyard taunts as they stood up to try and intimidate him. Despite being taller then they were both of them probably weighed about twice as much as he did. “No I do believe you have stupidity thoroughly covered here. I think I’ll take my energy to other mediums.” Yusuke mentally kicked himself, he wasn’t here to fight these mongoloid wastes of space. He had a job to do. He was about to huff and turn away to try and beg the Cafeteria ladies for another helping of food for Hikari when the buffon couldn’t resist one last jab.  
“You know just because your momma didn’t love you and dropped you off with an asshole doesn’t mean you have to make friends with the garbage you know.”  
Yusuke froze mid-turn. The fury in his entire stature eclipsing even what the Shadow of Madarame saw the previous month. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His voice practically dripping with venom Yusuke replied.  
“What… did you say?”  
“I said just because your stupid bitch of a mother gave-”  
Yusuke did not hear the rest of the boy’s taunt… for he had vacated the premises… when his eyes opened again there was only Fox.

********

June 28th. Kosei High School; Headmaster’s Office.

“I would like... “ Yusuke began, clutching his forehead as the world began to spin. “To apologize for my behavior headmaster…”  
The Headmaster of Kosei sighed and shook his head. He liked Yusuke Kitagawa. He really did, despite his oddities and eccentricities that put most of his fellow art students to shame he was a good kid. Which was why it was so shocking to have gotten a call from the cafeteria of all places telling him that Kitagawa had gotten into a fight! It was true he didn’t get the time to personally know every student that entered his school’s doors. He didn't think Kitagawa had a violent bone in his body. “What’s gotten into you Kitagawa? This isn’t like what I’ve heard about you…”  
“LIke I said, I did not make the right decision. As you may or may not be aware I do not exactly have a caregiver. While I am more than capable of attending to my own needs and am fully comfortable with my situation I…” Yusuke lowered his head. “They crossed a line…”  
The headmaster nodded. If the reports the cafeteria workers had given, and his knowledge of current events were both to be believed perhaps Yusuke lashing out was not so illogical an event. “I understand, and given your current state I say you’ve been punished enough…”  
Yusuke looked up in confusion, quickly regretting the action as it made his head spin. “T-Truly? I thought-”  
The headmaster held up a hand. “This is a one time event Yusuke. Am I understood?”  
Yusuke nodded slightly. “Yes sir. Thank you sir..”  
“Good… Kitagawa?”  
“Yes?”  
“Once again I must advise you to go to the school counselor. You may be resilient but I cannot even imagine the things you must have gone through. You need to talk to somebody…”  
A smile slowly crossed Yusuke’s battered face. “Thank you for your concern headmaster, but I already have all the confidants that I need… Is that all?”  
The headmaster nodded. “Yes… Yes, dismissed!”

********  
June 28th. Kosei High School; Classroom 3-C

Yusuke quickly made his way to his last class of the evening. From the short time the scrap had lasted before reality harshly intruded and he was beaten unconscious. By the time he woke up and made his way to the Headmaster’s office and back, the last period had already started.  
Not wanting to make a scene or draw much attention to himself or his injuries and simply end the day as soon as possible to report what little he had found to his comrades. Yusuke simply made his way to the back of the room and sat down hard in the first empty desk in the back row he could find, what he didn’t expect was a familiar high pitched squeak to accompany his action.  
Confused, Yusuke turned his head to the source of the noise only to find himself face to face with Hikari Kudo.  
“She shares a class with me, and likely has the entire school year. I probably saw her face every day as I walked into this course and never knew… even if I had I would probably have been too absorbed in my own oblivious blissful yet mistable ignorance to notice… How unfortunate…”  
It occurred to him after her eyes slowly slid away uncomfortably that he had once again been staring.  
He wasn’t even trying to draw someone this time.

“Ah, my apologies Kudo. I’m afraid my brain seemed to stop for a moment there...”  
Hikari let out a nearly inaudible “Hmm” as way of answer and ever so slightly lowered her baseball cap over her eyes.  
Deciding that time for conversation had ended and he should probably be listening to his teacher, god forbid he ended up like Ryuji. He simply nodded and turned his attention forward to the history lesson in front of him.

It wasn’t until Yusuke winced in pain once more after a particularly strong spike of pain lanced through his skull that Hikari talked to him again. “You should have known better...”  
Yusuke, through squinted eyes turned to look at her. “What do you mean? I suppose it was rather foolish of me to slug that neanderthal but-”  
“No... I mean me. The only reason those boys attacked you was because of me...”  
“Are you certain? I’m fairly certain the reason for their violence was my right hook...”  
Hikari’s frown faltered for a moment before coming back full force. "You know what I mean!”  
Yusuke was briefly taken aback by the sudden increase in forcefulness in her voice before she opened her desk to reveal the inside and bottom cover of the desk was filled with bright red writing. The writing ranged from crude drawings to vile obscenities that made Yusuke’s stomach turn. The most prominent phrase Yusuke could find written were the words “WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT KUDO?”  
Yusuke frowned, utterly appalled. “Have you told the teachers about this?”  
“What’s the point?”  
“The point is-”  
“Whatever you’re about to say... It won’t happen... why aren’t you understanding?”  
“My friends have informed me that I am quite the odd individual.”  
“Well, don’t get used to them...”  
“How do you mean?”  
“Soon as they find out you talked to me... they’ll be gone...”  
Yusuke frowned and wanted to press for more information. However under the brim of her hat he could see the shining silver of tears forming in her eyes, her wide gaze staring a thousand yards away. Even if he wanted to push her for more information Yusuke doubted his words could reach wherever she was.

This was far worse than he thought...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Welcome to the Author’s Notes!  
> Poor little Hikari. The details of her abuse are only really briefly discussed in Q2 in the barest of moments. And then three defining moments are basically turned into what can only be described to those who’ve never seen it as High School Musical:The Diss Track.  
> It’s really effed up. As for why Hikari is attending Kosei? There are a couple reasons honestly.  
> For one Yusuke being the ONLY character who attends the school in the main group means we know next to nothing about it. So I pretty much can’t go wrong in how it operates. Also Yusuke being the only one in another school just seems a bit odd given we never go there and it’s only ever relevant to keep Yusuke out of certain scenes or derailing his school trip. I think it might be because of the plans to make Hifumi a Phantom Thief at one point in development but I digress. It’s also because the hints given in Q2 point to her being around the same age as the protagonists and I just figured A: There was no way she’d go to Shujin as there’s no way any of Ren and Co wouldn’t know of her and B: Honestly to give some more goddamn variety in the faces so they’re not all Shujin and-  
> Well I’m getting ahead of myself. Enjoy and until next time!
> 
> Edit from the future: Yes I said future. I actually had this chapter typed up and ready a few days ago. However I then had to go on a little family trip where the WiFi was just.... It was just so bad and I didn't want to see what horrors that could bring. While I doubt I have people "Hungry for more" I set out to try and have a one chapter lead on myself. To have the next chapter done before the one before it was posted. However I wanted to get this second chapter out a lot sooner then this, but I ended up getting absorbed by Chimera Squadron and only writing about a paragraph for Chapter 3. I figured the whole "One chapter cushion" thing would get away from me, I just didn't think it would happen so quickly... Long story short while Chapter 2 was more or less completed besides editing when chapter 1 was posted... Chapter 3 is not in the same state. I don't know how this will affect my pacing but I do hope you'll bear with me and enjoy!  
> (Also methinks I suck at writing Yusuke but I may also be tainted by how easy it is to have him talk about art and absolutely zero else as a meme.  
> As for Hikari? Well... Here's hoping I don't f**k this up... speaking of the F-bomb I'm pretty sure Iwai used the only one I can have without being rated M for language... or is that just movies... Oh the irony..)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! You made it! This is the first story I’ve ever sent in to this site and frankly the first one that I don’t feel I’ll look back on as an ungodly mess that begs for apocalypse.  
> At the time of writing this note I’ve already finished up most of my work on the next chapter and am working on polishing both it and this one. By this point a bit of my anxiety and squeamishness has faded away so I do hope to waste less of your time with those rants laden with them.  
> I just wanted to say a quick heartfelt thank you to everyone for reading and for three people in specific. One of them is the friend of mine who, rather than sell her copy of Persona 5 when she purchased Royal, proceeded to ask me if I wanted it instead. And too two other people who supported me in writing this story. One of whom I can trust to bug me about this so it doesn't die. The other of whom I know I can come to with advice for tightening up things like grammar syntax and the like so I make as little a buffoon of myself as physically possible.  
> So thank you Sam. Thank you Beth and Thank you Daphne. (In no particular order)  
> And once again thank YOU for reading. See ya next time!


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